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Kasten sees bright future for Nats

Nationals team president Stan Kasten acknowledged recently he is disappointed in the team’s record, but feels good times are ahead for the franchise.

After the season, the Nationals are expected to know which players on the current roster will stay for the long term and determine who they would like to add this offseason. Kasten declined to name the players the Nationals have interest in, but it’s not a secret the team needs to improve the pitching staff — starting and relieving — its defense and tweak the offense.

“I’m not happy about the season and it signifies a horrible year on the field, but it has not been a horrible year in terms of progress toward our goal,” Kasten said. “It has been an important year in identifying the pieces we have as part of the long-term solution. We have come long way this year. We know a lot more about where we are and what we need than [we did earlier in the season].”

The Nationals have also stockpiled arms in the Minor Leagues, something Kasten promised back in 2006, and above-average position players — catcher Derek Norris and outfielder Michael Burgess — who could be in the Major Leagues in two years.

“I hear people talk about our Minor Leagues all the time, but what they don’t understand is our depth,” Kasten said. “They make a mistake when they say we don’t have any position players. All we have is pitching. Of course, they are wrong.

“In the Arizona Fall League, we will show some of the position players that we have. To say all we have is pitching — oh, my goodness. That is a huge thing. Clubs would kill to have the wealth of pitching that we have.”

Stan whatever you do please fix the outfield. Every error in the outfield is magnified and always results in extra bases and runs. The shoddy defense and lack of hustle is unacceptable. We need to get more than 8 homeruns, a bunch of errors and 14 caught stealing attempts out of a major league RF.Lets quit talking potential and just move him and get a respectable player like willingham to play the other corner. Just that little fix alone would have added another 10-15 wins this year.

Hmmm, let’s think about what answers have actually been provided this season and what questions have been raised:
On stockpile of arms, we know behind the current crop of Martis,Zimmermann, et al, there is no one ready for big leagues and none behind Lannan likely to be a difference maker in 2010. Storen is something to look forward to for the bullpen. Besides him, the bullpen is still a disaster area. Most besides MacDougal,Burnett not likely to be back.
Other questions answered or raised:
– can Flores stay healthy enough to be a #1 catcher?
– the team has a worse record this year with Dunn than last year without him. We know he wasn’t THE answer.
– Maxwell is not a significant part of the future, nor is Dukes likely to be be player they hoped he would
– Desmond’s defense is a problem, and he may not be a serious piece of the puzzle
– Guzman defense also suspect, so all new middle infield required
– Is Zimmerman really playing as hard as he could everyday, or was he mailing it in thru much of the middle of the season? He is a leader to set an example, or has he been led and learned a lot of bad habits?
– Is quality coaching still a major problem?
– Orr and Morse make good bench players.
At MLB level, I think we have gone backwards again. Only saving grace was career seasons from Dunn, Zim. Can they repeat? If Nats find a way to lose less than 100 next year, it will be from leadership of Riggleman/Manager.

It’s hard to believe how many folks still think the solution is spending money on free agents. Doesn’t work. Unless you’re trying to emulate the Flanagan/Angelos approach the Orioles used from 1997-2007. Happy with an upside of 75-80 wins year?

If your long-term goal is to win it all, the only way to go is to build from within. Even the Yankees built a significant part of their team this way (Jeter, Posada, Rivera, Cano, Chamberlain…) Once you have the core, then you spend the big money for the final pieces.

And if you don’t believe the Nats system is in 100% better shape than when MLB sold the team, you’re just not paying attention. MLB let the farm system deteriorate to the point where it was among the worst in MLB history. What we’ve seen at the major league level the past couple of years is a case of the pitiful farm system catching up with them. Is there anybody on the Nats (or making a major contribution elsewhere after a trade) who came out of the farm system during MLB ownership? Can any other team claim so little?

The key is pitching and pitching is a numbers game. Get as many arms as you can and find out who makes it. Some become your ML pitchers, some become trade material.

Yes, another season of 100 losses sucks. But when you look at the big picture, progress is being made. (And anybody who complains about Zimmerman and Dunn forfeit the right to be listened to in the future.)

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